


Venge and Plagueis: A Conversation

by Mengde



Series: Sith Apprentice: Darth Venge [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Sith Obi-Wan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-26 01:06:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6217432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mengde/pseuds/Mengde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Venge has just learned that his master, Darth Sidious, himself has a master, Darth Plagueis.  The Rule of Two has been broken.  The only question now is how he's going to deal with the revelation.</p><p>And whether or not Darth Plagueis will let him survive it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Venge and Plagueis: A Conversation

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Re-Entry Official Timeline](https://archiveofourown.org/works/913029) by [flamethrower](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamethrower/pseuds/flamethrower). 



> Hello again, Mengde here! Following the events of Fates II, here's the next chapter in what has turned out to be quite a story indeed.
> 
> I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you. Everyone who has left comments, given kudos, liked or reblogged the links on tumblr - my continuing inspiration for this AU is due in large part to you. I am very bad at writing back to comments in particular, and for that I apologize, but please know they're appreciated.
> 
> I would also like to thank norcumi especially for continuing to signal-boost this stuff, in addition to deadcatwithaflamethrower for her originally creating the character of Venge.

The cell was dark and cold.  It was also large, but that was doubtless a design choice to give an interrogator room to pace round their subject.

As Plagueis did now, around Venge.

Venge didn’t bother trying to keep track of the Muun as he orbited behind him, out of his line of sight.  It would be a pointless exercise.  The next blow would still be a surprise.  The Force was a versatile tool, that way.

“When did you first discover you were never meant to be a true Sith Lord?” Plagueis asked.

Licking cracked and swollen lips, Venge replied truthfully.  The alternative was painful, and Plagueis was never fooled anyway.  “There was never a discovery.  It was a realization.  Putting intuitions together.”  He braced himself, but no assault came.  That answer was apparently good enough.

“And when did you decide to betray us to the Jedi?”

“Never.”

Now Plagueis did hit him, a Force blow across the back of his bruised and throbbing head.  It dropped Venge to the floor of the cell.

“Not only did you fail to kill Qui-Gon on Tatooine,” Plagueis snapped, “you also failed to kill his _apprentice._   Who, rather than kill you, let you live.”  The Muun crouched next to Venge as he tried to struggle back to his feet.  “Why?”

“He’s a Jedi,” Venge growled between clenched teeth.  “Mercy is a noble act in their eyes.”

He felt himself levitated into the air by a grip around his throat.  Pain flashed through his skull and along the entire length of his spine.  He struggled to breathe.

“I do not believe you,” Plagueis hissed in his ear.

“Then you’re an old fool,” Venge whispered with what little breath the Muun’s Force grip permitted.  “My Master trained me too well.  It’s a wonder he hasn’t done away with you already.”

He felt the pressure around his throat vanish.  Venge dropped back to the floor in a heap.

“He has wanted to for some time,” Plagueis said, beginning to pace again.  “More than twenty years ago, he suggested to me that he train someone to execute missions with too high a risk of discovery for either one of us, but too much danger or difficulty for pawns or hired lackeys.  But when I saw you in action for the first time on Dorvalla, I knew something was amiss.

“Yes, he had trained you to be an implement of death, a tool in the arsenal of the Sith.  But you displayed all the qualities of a true Sith Lord.  Ruthlessness, ingenuity, adaptability – these I expected.  But your cunning, your ambition, and your self-interest – these, I did not.  And it became clear to me these qualities were not merely intrinsic to your nature; no, Sidious developed and encouraged them above and beyond that.

“So, where once I might have trusted him completely, I was suspicious.  And as I was suspicious, I was ready the night before the election, when all my various allies and favors had already been called into play.  When I was the most expendable I had ever been.

“Your master is cunning, however.  I have no doubt he sensed my distrust and refrained from acting on his dark impulses.  Now, I am co-Chancellor, and I felt it time you and I became better acquainted.”

Venge took a moment to consider his position.  It made sense, now, why Plagueis was subjecting him to this.  In point of fact, the Muun did _not_ think Venge was a traitor.  Indeed, he was concerned about just the opposite possibility – that Venge was absolutely loyal to Sidious, despite knowing he had never been meant to be anything more than a tool. 

Darth Bane had instituted the Rule of Two to combat the fatal flaw of the Sith, the desire for more power at whatever cost.  When there were many Sith, groups of weaker Dark Side users would ally to bring down a strong one, then fall to infighting.  Ultimately, this resulted in a strong leader being replaced with a weak one.

Darth Plagueis, Dark Lord of the Sith, was afraid.  Not of Venge, but of Venge and Sidious, together  And it was now clear to Venge the path he needed to take in order to leave this cell alive.

“I see,” Venge said, his voice raspy from bruising within his throat.  “I am loyal to the Sith, Darth Plagueis.”

He could feel the flicker in the Muun’s Force signature.  It was small, but it was definite.

“To the Sith?” Plagueis asked.  “Or to Sidious?”

“He is my Master,” Venge said, slow and careful.  “But he is not the Sith.”

The Muun’s eyes narrowed in a self-satisfied smile.  “Very good,” he said.  “Whether that is true, or whether you are merely cunning and dedicated to self-preservation – that hardly matters.  I was not wrong when I said you had the makings of a true Sith Lord.”

“So what happens now?” Venge asked.  “The Rule of Two is broken, but the Sith control the Republic.  There have never been circumstances like these before.”

“The Rule of Two is no longer applicable,” Plagueis said sharply.  “In this era, power does not rest in physical might, but in political influence and information.”

Venge considered that.  He had slicers, fences, informants, and other contacts, but the range of his influence couldn’t possibly extend anywhere that Plagueis’s or his Master’s didn’t.  Plagueis might see potential in him, but that did not mean he was safe.  Most of _his_ power rested in his skill with a lightsaber.  What Plagueis was really saying amounted to, _why should I let you live, potential or no, useful or no?  You’re still a threat.  What do you bring to the Sith?_

He had to buy some time.

“So, to that end, you arranged for Sidious to become Chancellor and to appoint you co-Chancellor,” Venge said.  _Tactic: tell the target something they already know, then let them tell you what you_ don’t _know._   “Nobody has more political influence than the Chancellor, at least in theory.  But that’s only the first step.”

“Precisely,” Plagueis said, but remained silent beyond that.

Venge continued to think furiously, cursing Plagueis internally for being hard to bait.  “The Senate is too unwieldy and _democratic_ for long-term rule, especially given the term limit on Supreme Chancellors.  You need to solidify the Sith’s rule by making the position permanent, which is forbidden by the Constitution.”

“Unless…” Plagueis prompted.

Venge got it.  “Unless you’re voted wartime emergency powers by the Senate.  Then you can start suspending whatever parts of the Constitution prove inconvenient.”

“Indeed.  How can you help foment this war?  What role can you play that Sidious and I cannot?”

“Simple,” Venge replied, grateful to be back on solid ground.  “Every war needs at least two sides.  Whom- or whatever you choose to serve as the other side will need a public face.  A leader or general.”

He felt his gut twist at Plagueis’s harsh laugh.  “But we already have such a one.  Jedi Master Dooku has renounced his allegiance to the Order.  Working with us, he will lead the opponents of the Republic in a long, punishing war.”

 _Find a new angle._   “Dooku is a former Jedi,” Venge sneered, hiding any trace of misgiving at the gamble he was about to take.  “Even if he’s turned to the Dark Side, he will never truly be a Sith.  You need someone to ensure he plays his part.”

Plagueis laughed again.  “And I suppose you are the one we should entrust with this task?”

“Perhaps there is someone better suited, but if there is, _I_ certainly don’t know them,” Venge argued.  “Unless you also took a second apprentice as insurance against Sidious turning against you.  But if that _were_ the case, we wouldn’t be here now, and you wouldn’t be so invested in seeing me killed.”

“Have a care, boy,” Plagueis said warningly.  “Do not presume to explain my own knowledge to me.”

Venge let his gaze drop to the floor, knowing now was the time for contrition rather than further arrogance.  “Yes, Lord Plagueis.”

The Muun paced a while longer, obviously thinking.  Finally, he spoke again.  “If you intend to play the informant, you will not be doing so only in relation to Dooku.”

That was obliquely phrased, but Venge understood clear as day.  What Plagueis really wanted, what he had been driving Venge toward throughout this entire interrogation, was a promise to spy on Sidious.  But the old Muun was wily.  He couldn’t outright _ask_ Venge to do that.  All the offers, the ideas, the betrayal, had to originate from Venge.  It was a carefully-laid trap, and the alternative to stepping into it was death.

Venge was not ready to die. 

He let a smile show on his bruised face.  “I understand completely… my Master.”


End file.
